Culture according to nature

There is a place called Val dl’Ert where the nature is both wild and idyllic, silent and lively. Here, shady woods are interspersed with secluded meadows, and at times the landscape opens up to the view, featuring mountains, sky, sun and clouds. A path winds through the middle of the valley and as you walk along it, your eyes pick things up and your breathing becomes calm in tune with the breathtaking nature that reveals itself with every new step. But then you catch a glimpse of something unexpected. Within the landscape there are constructions, shapes, colors and objects that are seemingly (con)fused with the panorama, appearing disruptive to a lesser or greater degree. They are visions that disorientate and surprise: works that gradually manifest themselves, creating perceptive short circuits in those who observe and experience them. The valley is not “only” fertile ground for the grandiose spectacle of nature, but is also home to “other” forms of creativity, the fruit of human inspiration. These presences are partly “alien” but also far from irreconcilable with the landscape, because they are designed to amplify its resonance, opening up glimpses and visions of possible elsewheres and generating emotions and thoughts, yet always in continuity with the culture, history and nature of the place.

But where is this surprising “Val dl’Ert” (or “Valley of Art”, as translated from Ladin into Italian)?

It is near San Martino in Badia on about 25 hectares of land – a true open-air museum conceived as a work in progress – which today hosts 28 works of contemporary art, including sculptures and installations, scattered throughout the Alpine landscape and created by 28 artists from all over the world. Val dl’Ert counts guests, locals, families with children, school groups, artists and art enthusiasts among its visitors and access is free at any time during the day, all year round. The works are permanent and increase with each new edition, because they are selected from among the winning projects of an important biennial contemporary art competition, established in 2012 and which has seen its international participation grow over the years. Every two years, this competition brings the ten winning artists to the area to exhibit and create their site-specific works in ten locations of historical-cultural interest in the region. We are talking about SMACH (the acronym for San Martin Art, Culture and Heritage): a one-of-its-kind in the Alto Adige area and beyond.

“SMACH is all this and much more” says the current President and founding member Michael Moling. He continues “The competition was started in 2012 with the aim of promoting the territory not just from a touristic point of view, but also and more especially from a cultural point of view, with an international appeal in mind. In 2013, the first edition came about as the “Biennale delle Dolomiti”, with the basic idea being the involvement of competitors at the heart of its statute that was as open and participatory as possible. A unique feature of our competition is that we do not ask for a curriculum vitae: anyone who feels like an artist is invited to participate. For us, the quality of the work and the idea for the territory is more important than the personal and professional history of the individual”, something that ​​Moling is keen to underline.

SMACH is being held again in 2025 and the prestigious international jury for this edition consists of the artists Peter Senoner and Jasmine Deporta, curators Zasha Colah and Emanuele Masi and the well-known designer Stefan Sagmeister. In the 2025 call, as in previous ones, a theme was chosen by the scientific committee around which to organize the proposals. This year it was the turn of a particular object, the so-called “cu” in Ladin or “cote” in Italian. This is a stone that was once used in pastures for sharpening the scythe and cutting the grass and which is still used in some meadows in the area.

“In choosing this object” Moling continues “we identified the possibility of opening ourselves up a little more to the rest of the world, because there is no shortage of affinities with many different cultures and civilizations on other continents. This object recalls concepts such as materiality, imagination, craftsmanship, technical evolution, universality of forms and fundamental needs, but also working tools found throughout the rest of the world”.

There are four main selection criteria that the jury takes into account when deciding the winners, explains Moling. “Firstly, there is the link with local cultural roots, seen from a contemporary perspective, with the proposal of works that establish a dialogue with the place and its inhabitants. Then there is feasibility, with the use of materials that do not damage the context of triple environmental protection. Thirdly there is financial sustainability, in the sense that each proposal must use the same sized budget as everyone else. As a result, it is up to the artist’s genius to create a valuable piece of work with limited resources. Finally there is the spatial impact, by which we mean that it is essential that the works do not disappear in what is an authentic natural art gallery, ranging from 1,200 to 2,800 meters above sea level. Durability is also an aspect to consider, since the works must “last” at least sixty days, the time of exposure. If deterioration is part of the artistic concept” concludes Michael Moling “the suitability of such works will be assessed on an individual basis”.

The winning artists of SMACH 2025 who convinced and won over the jury with their projects and site-specific works are: Alex Xiaotan Yang, Wentao Guo, Carmine Auricchio, Jonathan Coen, Moritz Knopp, Elias Jocher, Hama Lohrmann, Drukdoenerij (Hans De Backer, Lola Giuffré, Luca Rossi, Atelier Simondi, Officina Fabre and Associazione Prometheus, Theresa Hattinger, ELSE ­– Fei Xu, Zimo ZHANG. A satellite project, by Riccardo Buonafede, will also be present.

Over the years, SMACH has become both a lively hub and a genuine cultural activator packed with different initiatives which aim to involve a wide range of users. These include the local community, with the additional scope of preserving and sharing its rich historical-cultural heritage. SMACH and the Val dl’Ert are a space for educational activities, pedagogic programs and workshops, but also events such as concerts, shows and open-air film festivals, for which the valley’s secluded and silent natural amphitheatre is a highly suggestive and unique setting. “This year” adds Micheal Moling “we would also like to create an artist residency program through crowdfunding, purchasing a mobile home to host not only artists but also writers, poets and researchers throughout the year in order to open ourselves even more to interdisciplinary and international exchanges”.

To date, a series of satellite projects by SMACH have also been devised, which represent further important elements in the promotion of the area and contemporary art as vehicles for knowledge and new perspectives regarding the present. Among these is the work “Tor” by Val Badia’s most important sculptor and artist Lois Anvidalfarei, a work created with the support of the 2021 PAC – Plan for Contemporary Art call and the Ciastel de Tor Ladin Museum. This large tower stands next to the main body of the Museum Ladin and is home to the sculpture  entitled “Tor” which depicts a body suspended in a structure made of scaffolding tubes. The bronze figure is one of the six created in 2013 by Lois Anvidalfarei for the “Conditio Humana” cycle. As the title of the series suggests, the work depicts existence balanced between physical strength, containment, endurance and surrender. Another of SMACH’s satellite projects, internationally significant and with a strong impact on the territory is the piece entitled “Il Terzo Paradiso” by the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, which will be set in Colfosco near the Passo Gardena on a panoramic meadow in the middle of the woods, at the foot of the Sella Group. The inauguration of the project curated by Sandro Orlandi Stagl and Phil Mer  is scheduled for July 2025 and the installation will be visible from various points of the valley and can also be reached on foot and by cycling path. Pistoletto’s work is intended to represent the Third Paradise that merges the first and second paradises. The first is the one in which human beings were totally integrated into nature while the second is the artificial paradise developed by human intelligence up to the global dimensions reached today with science and technology. This last is a real artificial world that, with exponential progression, generates irreversible processes of degradation and consumption of the natural world in parallel to the beneficial effects. The Third Paradise is the third phase of humanity, which is created in the balanced connection between artifice and nature. I would not be wrong in stating that SMACH and the magic of Val dl’Ert already represent an enlightening step in this direction.

Those interested in enjoying a unique experience in the heart of the Dolomites and discovering all the works of the biennial SMACH 2025 can find a series of packages with trekking itineraries, guided tours and overnight stays in refuges in Alta Badia on the holimites.com website.